squadron simulated a blockade of an enemy port, with Charleston, South Carolina, standing in as the "enemy" port. During this blockading exercise, held from 9 to 13 February 1897, the squadron experimented to determine the optimum operating distance between ships for an effective blockade, as well as with the use of searchlights for night blockading operations and with doctrine and tactics for the interception of blockade runners at night and in fog. Not only did this "blockade" of Charleston require more detailed staff work to arrange logistical support for the ships involved than had been customary previously in the U.S. Navy, it also marked the first time in history that the North Atlantic Squadron practiced offensive operations in enemy waters rather than focusing strictly on the defense of the coast of the United States. Bunce's leadership of the North Atlantic Squadron between 1895 and 1897 proved important in the history of the U.S. Navy and by extension of the future course of United States history, forging the squadron's ability to conduct modern naval warfare as a cohesive fighting unit in time for it to be prepared for combat against the Spanish Navy in 1898 during the Spanish–American War, a capability it did not have during the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s. It also provided a foundation for the continued development of U.S. Navy tactical doctrine in the early twentieth century. Discussing the U.S. Navy's handling of battleships at sea, Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans wrote in 1901, "We had mastered it in the only way possible of seamen – by constant work and practice out on the blue water. We all owe much to Admiral Bunce." On 1 May 1897, Bunce turned command of the North Atlantic Squadron over to Rear Admiral Montgomery Sicard and moved to the final tour of his career, relieving Sicard as commander of the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York. Later career As commander of the New York Navy Yard, Bunce gave the fateful order to the battleship USS Maine on 8 December 1897 to get underway from New York City and steam to Key West, Florida, to join the North Atlantic Squadron; this led to her deployment to Havana, Cuba, where an explosion destroyed her on 15 February 1898 and precipitated the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898. He remained at the navy yard throughout the war, being promoted to rear